It's hard to make a sequel live up to the original... it usually falls into a few cliches like characters you really loved from the first movie not getting anywhere near enough screen time (usually because they break up the team in some way to create tension) and the whole thing not feeling quite as fresh or as focused or being able to wow you in the same way.
But if you're lucky they do manage to find that same emotional vein.
That pretty much sums up The Lego Movie 2.
Having seen four of these movies at this point, I know they're going to be as pretty as hell, I know they're going to be dropping pop culture references left, right and centre, I know they're going to make me laugh, and at some point I'm going to look at something in the movie and want it as an actual Lego set.
Possibly because of the reveal that all of this was "happening" in the imagination of The Boy/Finn in "the real world" in the first movie (and I liked that Jadon Sand returned to play the older Finn), you can't do that type of reveal again in the sequel... I mean they did a bit, but it was pretty obvious all the way through what was going on... and this movie's version of "Kraggle" is a little too on the nose.
Doubly so because the end of the first movie sets up that the supposed antagonist of this movie is Finn's sister, or rather her Lego/Duplo creations.
Having said all of that, this movie still got to a place that made me emotional... and I don't even have a sibling. I also appreciated that while it was mostly a "don't try and grow up too quickly" message (which you could say is Lego trying to ensure that they keep their target consumers interested for as long as possible if you wanted to be cynical), it managed to take a swipe at toxic masculinity in a clever and age appropriate way for the movie's intended audience.
I'm a little torn between wishing we had a clearer resolution to the conflict between brother and sister, but I also appreciate that it didn't go the overly earnest and a little too twee on repeat viewings route of the father/son conflict from the first movie.
I did wish that they're included more Benny and Unikitty in this movie though... they're leaning a little too heavily on the Lego Batman crutch right now (unsurprising since he's probably super popular in the target demographic, and he had a whole movie of his own), and while I love the way Will Arnett plays him, I do like Benny and Unikitty a WHOLE lot more. My "want that as a Lego set" was pretty quickly sated by Unikitty's transformation into Ultrakatty (which I already knew was a set to be honest).
Of the additions to this movie, I do like Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (voiced by Tiffany Haddish) the most, especially since she basically turns her parts of the movie into a musical (particularly her first number, "Not Evil"... which may possibly be my theme song from here on out).
Speaking of... I do love this movie's attempt at the amazingness that was "Everything is Awesome"... and within the confines of the movie I did love the appropriately named "Catchy Song" (which should really be subtitled "This Song's Gunna Get Stuck Inside Your Head")... but it doesn't quite measure up.
I will say that the idea that the "forces" in the movie representing Finn's younger sister having a bright poppy song in their arsenal that is equally irritating and earwormy makes perfect sense considering Finn is now 14 or 15 (Sands is currently 15, so it makes sense they're basically the same age). It also explains all the glitter.
Overall I think that while this movie doesn't live up to the original, it is definitely higher on my list than the Batman and Ninjago versions respectively. And it manages to be greater than the sum of it's parts.
yani's rating: 4 dolphin clocks out of 5
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